Alarm-bell.



Patented Aug. 28, i900.

105m m C L l Ax L.L.m, f `Z Mmm d/ u ,5 2 .WBA Y E m I "mm .m A MIM 9 Ill L W m l No. 656.85I.

` (No Model.)

rre Y STATES PATENT rerun.

EZRA ARTHUR NEVI'IALL, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

ALARM-BELL.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 656,851, dated August28, 1900. Application filed Aprill, 190i). Serial Noi 13,048. l(Nomodel.)

HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in thecounty of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Alarm-Bells; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and eXact description'of the invention,`such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it app-ertains tomake and use the same.

The invention relates to alarm-bells intended for Iuse on bicycles andthe like; and the object in view is to provide a bell of thisdescription which is simple in construction and which may be rungcontinuously for some time by a single impulse.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein*`Figure 1 is a vert-ical central section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of thesame with the crown of the bell removed, showing the cup portion and theinterior works; and Fig. 3 is a side view of the cup and the bracket forsecuring the bell to the machine.

composed of clamping-plates 2 2, shaped to fit the handlebar or otherpart of the ma# chine to which the bell is to be attached. The plates 22 are clamped together by threaded bolts 3 3, and one end of the 'topplate is preferably provided with an extension et for a purpose whichwill be described later onf Rigidly secured to the top plate of thebracket and projecting vertically from the center thereof is a post d,and at the upper end of the post the crown e of the bell is se; cured inany suitable mannen` Below the crown e there is sleeved upon the post,so as turn freely, a cup b of any convenient shape and having its upperedge itting withinthe depending edge of the crown e.

. curely fastening the disk and thee up together,

In the upper part of this cup there is secured a disk d, the

so that they may be revolved together around the post d..A i

vRising from the plate d are pins or elon gated rivets p, and secured tothe upper ends of these pins is another plate u2, similar to the plated. The plate a2 is also sleeved upon the post d and being rigidlyconnected by the pinsp` with the plate d moves with it. Between thesetwo plates a and a2 are mounted the train of gears c c c c2 for ringingthe bell, the clapper t', and the star-wheel j, as will now bedescribed.

The post d is preferably shouldered at a point about midway of itslength, and a ratchet-wheelf, with teeth pointing in one direction only,is secured in xed position upon this post. A gear-wheel g is looselyjournaled upon the post below the ratchet-wheel, the latter beingpreferably provided with a depending hub h, upon which by means of asuitable washer the gear is held. This gearwheelis connected, by meansof a spring-pawl j, with the teeth of the ratchet-wheelf7 so that thegear may revolve in one direction and be i held against revolution inthe opposite di- Referring to the views, l denotes a bracket y rection.Into the teeth of the gear g meshes the prime pinion c of the train ofclapperoperating pinions c c c, these pinions being mounted uponsuitable pins connecting the plates d a2. The last pinion c2 of theclapperoperating train has connected to it a starwheelj, and theescapementj2 of the clappero' engages with this star-wheel in a mannercommon in this class of bells.

Housed within the cup b and having one end rigidly secured to the fixedpost CZ is a coiled spring Z, the opposite end of which is connected tothe plate d by means of a pin m, fixed to the plate. A thumb-piece a3 issecured tothe outside of the cup b for the purpose of turning it in thedirection of the arrow, and a lug 5 projects from the bottom of the cupin such position as to strike against the extension 4 of the top plate 2of the clamp and limit the turning movement of the cup inthe oppositedirection.

The construction being as above described, the operation of the bell isas follows: The cup and the plates @and d2, as also the clapper t' andits train of operating-pinions c c c c2, being free to turn around theiixedpost IOO are pressed constantly in. one direction by the stress ofthe spring Z, one end of which is secured to lthe post, as alreadydescribed, and the other end of which is xed to the plate 0i. Thetension of this spring holds the cup and the pa-rts carried thereby insuch position that the lug 5 on its bottom is held in contact with thestop 4C, projecting upwardly from the clamp. When it is desired to ringthe bell, the cup Z7 is turned in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2by pressure against the thumb-piece a3. This causes the cup and thetrain of clapper-operating pinions and the clapper itself all to turnaround the post in the same direction and tends also to turn the gear gin the same direction. Movement of this gear, however, in this directionis prevented by means of the spring-pawl j, and

the gear being thus held against movement the train of clapper-operatingpinions travels around it and the clapper is operated by the consequentrevolution of the pinions in a manner that is well understood. Onreleasing the thumb-piece a3 the pressure of the spring rotates the cupand its connected parts in the vreverse direction and restores them totheir original position, with the lug 5 against the stop 4. In thismovement of the parts the frictional engagement between theclapper-operating pinions and the gear g tends to carry the latter withthem, and the inclination of the ratchet-teeth permits the spring-pawlto slip over them and allows the gear g to revolve backward with thetrain ot' operating-pinions without causing any individual rotation ofthe latter. derstood from this that the clapper is operated and the bellrung only when the cup is moved by pressing against the thumb-piece a3in the direction of the arrow and that the only function of the springis to restore the parts to their original position ready for a newimpulse. It follows from this that the bell begins to ring immediatelythat pressure is applied to the thumb-piece and that the duration of thering is variable and dependent lupon the extent of turning movement. Itis also to be noted that the intensityof the ring and the rapidity ofthe strokes is dependent upon the speed with which the cup is turned. Afurther advantage of the construction lies in the fact that the springhas nothing to do with the operation ot' ringing the bell, but onlyreturns the parts to their original position for a newimpulse. Thus avery light and cheap spring is suiiicient to do the work, andeven shouldthe spring break the bell would not be inoperative, as obviously theparts could be returned to their initial position by hand.

It will be uni tively by thumb-pressure and not by the compression andrelease of springs; anda further advantage of the arrangement is that itpermits a relatively-large multiplying gear,

as g, and a train of clapper-operating pinions which will produce a loudand continuous ring for a very small amount of movement of thethumb-piece.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. In 'an alarm-bell for bicycles and the like, the combination of thecrown, a fixed post, aratchet-wheel secured to the post, a gear-wheeljournaled on the post, a plate carrying a clapper and pinions meshingwith said gear, and a spring tending to revolve the plate, the gear andthe pinions in one direction, the gear having a pawl engagement with theratchet, whereby it will be held stationary by the ratchet when thespring is wound up, but will revolve with the pinions around the ratchetwhen the spring is released.

2. In an alarm-bell for bicycles and the like, the combination of thecrown, a xed post, a ratchet-wheel fixed to the post, a gearwheeljournaled on the post, a cup under the crown, a clapper andVoperating-pinions carried by said cup, connections between said ratchetand gear to hold thelatter stationary and cause the pinions and clapperto operate when the cup is manually turned, and a spring for returningthe parts to their normal position.

3. In an alarm-bell for bicycles and the like, the combination of thecrown, a xed post, a ratchet-wheel secured to said post, a gear-wheeljournaled on the post, a cup under the bell having a thumb-,piececonnected thereto, a clapper and train of operatingpinions carried bythe cup and connected to the gear, a pawl connection between the ratchetand gear to hold the latter fixed when the cup is manually rotated, anda spring for returning the parts to their normal position.

4. In an alarm-bell for bicycles and the like, the combination of thecrown, a ixed post, a ratchet-wheel secured to the Post, a gear-wheeljournaled on the post and having a spring-pawl connecting it with theratchet-wheel, a cup under the bell having a thumb-piece for turning itin one direction around the post and a spring for returning it toposition, a fixed stop against which the spring holds the cup, a plateor frame se- IOO IIO

cured to the cup and carrying a clapper and y

